The Monarchs: Butterflies Without Borders

Audubon monarch talk image

By April Gaydos

Monarch butterflies are streaming across northern Mexico this very minute—the first migrants have already reached their winter sanctuaries located high in the mountains of the Sierra de Angangueo in Michoacán. Over the next few weeks they will be joined by thousands of monarchs to wait out the winter, clustered tightly in the branches of fir and pine trees. This generation of monarchs bears the responsibility for the survival of their species that inhabit the northern reaches of the United States and southern Canada.

The migration of monarch butterflies in North America to overwintering sites in Mexico is among the most spectacular and unusual of the world’s natural events. With their arrival in Mexico, the time is ripe to investigate this “endangered natural phenomenon” and to learn how we can aid them on their migratory journeys and also how we can help our resident monarchs flourish. On Tuesday, November 15, Audubon de Mexico will host a talk on the monarchs by Bob Graham, a retired Canadian National Park interpreter, and Dr Manual Velazquez, who has spearheaded a conservation project focusing on our resident monarchs.

Bob Graham is well-versed in the study of monarchs and has led trips to view them in their Mexico winter habitat. Bob will detail their life cycle and the biological characteristics that allow this seemingly fragile insect to navigate 3,000 miles across the milkweed fields of the US and Canada to the mountains of Mexico. He will also address the alarming decline of the monarch population, the problems threatening survival, and what is being done on national levels to help sustain this ecological and cultural icon.

Dr Velazquez’ mission is to encourage participation in monarch conservation in Mexico. He will talk about resident monarchs in Mexico and provide you with how-to information based upon his experience nurturing a butterfly habitat, especially milkweed, and raising monarchs to protect them from predators and to increase their population.

Milkweed seeds and information on plants species that are best for feeding monarchs and other butterflies will be available after the talk. You can also learn about guided tours of the Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, offered by Trevelyan Tours that depart from San Miguel in late February and early March.